Midlands Review of Non-Transferable
midlandsmovies • January 10, 2021
Non-Transferrable
Directed by Jack Veasey
2021
“You managed to get out”.
The psychological effects of crime and rehabilitation are two of the broad themes in a short new thriller film from Midlands writer-director Jack Veasey.
The opening begins with echoing gun shots before we are introduced to our protagonist John (Andre-Pierre) who awakens and heads to the bathroom. Here we see a medical colostomy bag showing a past injury and the film sets up an intriguing premise as to how this may have occurred.
A lonely man, John briefly reflects on a table full of empty alcohol bottles, showing perhaps some stages of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Later our lead enters a barn and hidden in the roof is a small cardboard box containing a phone, a balaclava and a pistol. Alongside this, further inner turmoil from his history manifests itself in a panic attack which is performed well by the lead.
Non-Transferable opens with a mysterious beginning, although for me a slightly faster edit from the outset may have helped. With a no-dialogue slow walk around a flat taking a full third of the run time, a tighter pace would still get the same information over but move the audience to its more dramatic beats. In contrast though, the great camera work and movement keeps the film visually interesting throughout.
Using this concealed phone, John calls a contact, and we discover he needs work with his debts piling up. When John wears the balaclava, we also get a reminder of his unlawful and possibly violent previous life. Yet, as he sits down for a chat with Tyler (Daniel Anderson), his contact explains the terrible consequences if he were to return to his criminal past.
[slight spoiler] It is here where Veasey introduces a nice twist as their conversation takes place with John’s gun pointing at Tyler from the outset, hidden as it is under the table they are talking over. This sequence built up tension yet reminded me of the famous Hitchcock quote about suspense. In summary the acclaimed director explains how an “innocuous conversation becomes fascinating because the public is participating in the scene” by making them aware of something shown to them at the start (he uses the example of a bomb under a table).
It may well have been wise to consider showing us this fact far earlier in the story making every part of their dialogue something that could instigate a violent conclusion.
In addition, much like his previous film Number 23 (our review), Veasey instils his film with some social commentary. In this case, the non-transferable title comes from the admission from John that he doesn’t have any skills to move into regular employment.
And therefore, these ideas fold into the ending which spirals the story back in another direction. The film possibly suggests there is some inevitability people can be easily dragged back into a world of crime. Ironically, John may be institutionalised into that way of life, unable to function in the outside world and sees his survival the only way he knows how.
With a mix of dark drama, and a soundtrack that invokes a little of Nolan’s recent Tenet, the film’s technical aspects balance nicely with a slightly elongated story. But it does so with flair and also a smidgen of serious themes which help showcase the talents and verve of both actors. Non-Transferable ends by continuing to show the excellent development of a director more than clued-up in the uneasy and shadowy themes of the crime genre.
Michael Sales
With a number of acclaimed films under his belt including Cosmo, Gone Fishing and The Morgue Party, Jonathan Hawes launches a new short, once again in his favourite genre of comedy. Midlands Movies Mike Sales speaks to the writer/director about his latest project, his influences and his plans for the film.
Up! (1976) Dir. Russ Meyer Well, bi-Adolf Hitler BDSM is not something (a) I thought I’d ever see 5 minutes into a movie and (b) ever expected to write in my lifetime to be fair but this spicy start is pretty standard for the work of exploitation filmmaker Russ Meyer. Up! is a kind of r*pe-revenge softcore p*rn film (there’s gonna be a fair bit of self-censorship in this review so apologies in advance), the type Meyer is known for. I’d describe the plot in more detail but it’s mostly a convoluted and incoherent mess of double-crossing, murder, violence and lots and lots of humping. In short, a man called Adolph gets murdered and a woman investigates (kinda) the circumstances but as she does so, a group of locals blackmail, attack and screw each other with the murder mystery barely mentioned throughout. With so little narrative, it could be argued if it’s essentially p*rn? To be fair, not far off. It’s about extreme as you can go without simply making a s*x film. Is that a…no, it’s a belly button hole. Bookending the film (and also seen at various points throughout) is a Greek Chorus - simply a busty fully nude woman of course - who delivers dialogue like “Pummelling the scrotum with joyous supplication” and other such poeticisms. This artistic flourish is mostly pointless - the actress herself saying the words were tough to learn because it was utter nonsense. On a technical level, the editing is surprisingly well done and the 4k image is frankly fantastic. Someone somewhere must be putting together a post-modern take about the beautiful landscapes and cinematography of Meyer’s * ahem * output. But it definitely does have a kitsch artistry. It has certainly provided plenty of cinematic influence though. Elements of Tarantino grindhouse sensibilities are on show - Meyers likes bosoms as much as Quents likes feet - and there’s even a leather gimp early on. I can also see how its had an impact on Ti West X’s with a focus on sexuality and the body as well, more obviously, Anna Biller’s feminist-twist The Love Witch (2016). Suffice to say it’s not for the weak of heart. I think in this day and age you can’t go into this completely blind to its style, period and context though. It's an X-rated Carry On style that was bad taste then and it’s bad taste now. It revels in its sleaziness without a single hint of shame or apology. Simply saying 'deal with it'. The main negative though is the absence of plot - if the film can even be looked at like that - which is barely present. This is a shame as the whole thing could do with a bit more coherence rather than endless shagging. But it’s far from titillation, it’s mostly clowning - albeit a very adult version of it. More saucy than sexy. Trying to review this through modern sensibilities is almost impossible. It’s as offensive can be from the first scene through to the final credits - heck even this 4k menu is simply one of the film's many s*x scenes. But there are some progressive themes as it doesn’t shy from confronting sexual freedom, bisexuality, gay sex, BDSM and consensual exploration. There's moments of comedy thrown in and I enjoyed a frankly hilarious 5-minute monologue explaining the culprit’s intentions, which was a ludicrous way to deliver a slasher-style ending. I suppose the main thing about Up! (and Meyers’ work overall) is there’s a sort of love it or loathe it quality about the whole shebang. But it’s so unlike anything being made today - for good or bad - that it’s never anything other than unpredictably fascinating. More explicit than most Meyers films - in fact more than any film - it’s a lewd, rude and crude (s)exploration with a satirical edge and campy enjoyment bouncing from every frame. ★★★ 3 / 5 Michael Sales Severin Films releases Russ Meyers' UP! (1976) and MOTORPSYCHO (1965) on 28 April 2025 in newly restored and scanned 4k with hours of new and archival Special Features https://severinfilms.co.uk/
On the 24th of April, the Midlands Art Centre opened its doors to Gobby Flicks Productions for a night of live comedy. Proceeds were raised towards the production of new short comedy films, directed and written by women.
Ti West’s The House of the Devil makes a wonderful companion piece to his film The Innkeepers. Both maintain the director’s referential approach to horror, incapsulating it in a slow burning 90 minutes that manages to build and maintain tension while cheekily winking to the audience and showing the mechanisms behind the scares.